Another Coastal Workation – This one in Ullal Mangalore

Not many of you would’ve heard of this small town called Ullal, which is about 20kms south of Mangalore in Karnataka. Not that it is a spot of any tourism interest nor that it is popular for anything in particular.  The closest it could come to be of any limelight is due to “Someshwar Temple” in the suburb of Someshwar and also that it is the closest ‘town’ to the Karnataka/Keral border along that stretch. Additionally the Someshwar beach is probably the most prominent one within this part of the geography.

Now of all the places, why did I choose Ullal to be my next workation destination? Honestly it’s not because anyone told me or that I knew much about the place either. It’s just that on Airbnb when I looked for accommodation options that were pet friendly and proximity to the beach, the small suburb of Uchil (in Ullal) was one of the few in Mangalore that provided me with options. Everything else was either north of Mangalore or towards Kannur in Kerala. Considering I had spent a fortnight at that coastline (Udupi to Goa) last year and that very recently I spent a month working across Kerala, I wasn’t keen to hit that state again..And that’s how Ullal happened.

So that Friday at 7am when I started driving to Ullal from Bangalore, I knew it wouldn’t take more than 6-8hrs of driving time knowing how amazing the national highway NH75 from Bangalore to Mangalore is. Of course with the pets in the car it needed a couple of extra hours of pit stop and break time but wasn’t going to be anything more. Until about Sakleshpur the road is just amazing, on par with some of the best roads in the world that I’ve driven on. From Sakleshpur it gets a little narrow, windy and with lot of distractions due to the highway expansion project going on. Add to that the western ghats don’t make the roads any easier to drive either.

By about 4pm or so I was about 5 mins away from my Airbnb in Uchil. The minute I steered off the highway and entered the lush green narrow backroads that were going to lead me to the coastline, I knew the place was going to be amazing. Having spent a few weeks in Alleppey Kerala which was very similar, I knew I could expect something like that if not better. And boy was I in for a treat? The guest house in Uchil was possibly in one of the quietest parts of the area and practically about 50mts from the beach.

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Within a 5 km distance north and south of the accommodation I could hardly count a dozen houses and a couple of resorts. Most of these were not even occupied due to it being a non holiday season. The roads were pitch black due to the consistent evening showers & morning dews and the lush green flora around made it a blissful place to spend a few weeks or even more..

Every morning (or most) I kicked off with a short run (7-10kms) and running along the coast in the backroads, when there’s no sun and when the mornings are misty, makes it such a pleasurable experience. It almost felt like a 6am run in Bangalore’s Lalbagh. I had this straight stretch of road which would loop into a 5km track and to make it even better, there would not be a single vehicle until about 8am. For once I never used my headphones while running cuz I wanted to soak in the nature & its sounds as much as I could. The ocean breeze, the sounds of the waves, the chirping of the birds n the odd ‘train chug’ at a distance were all just too good to be missed with a headphone on.

Through the day, it would be catching up on work n the usual household chores, but some of the evenings I ventured out to explore some of the local cafes. Of a handful of cafes that I tried, the one I absolutely loved was The TLC Café in Bejal. It had the most elaborate coffee brew menu that I’ve by far seen in India. And add to that the food was incredibly tasty. Their Bread Bowl with Chowder is something I could give an arm n a leg for. To top that their Turkish Pides were just divine. Definitely a must drop by whenever in Mangalore, this.

On the other hand, Milo and Zoey had a whale of a time making use of all the outdoor time they could get. From playing in the bushes to soaking all the sun, from chasing butterflies to sniffing on the snails they couldn’t have asked for anything better to do. And whenever they needed some change, a walk to the beach was always lined up. Someswar Beach was so blissful for them with hardly one or two dogs around, which didn’t even bother to trouble a bit. While Zoey enjoyed all the water time she could get, Milo was busy chasing the flying disc, digging up the sand and just enjoying being outside freely.

Of all the workations I’ve had so far in the last 9 months starting with Karwar, Pondicherry, Malpe, Bijapur, Mysore, Ooty, Kashmir, Maldives and Kerala this one in Ullal was by far the most relaxing one with me doing nothing other than running every morning, walking at the beach, having breakfast at a local store, playing with the pets, cooking some lunch, grabbing all the sunsets and yes doing some work whenever I can. Thankfully the rain gods were completely in my favour keeping the days nice, wet and cool while it drizzled or showered a few times in the night. Exactly like one would want it.

Would I come back to Ullal for another workation in the future? Possibly yes but it has to be in the monsoons. I personally am not a summer person and can’t take the heat. The days when the sun was out in all its glory here, I found it way too hot to even step out. Thankfully It was only one or two days of the 2 weeks I was around, so can’t complain much. But yes Ullal and surrounds is definitely a place to be during monsoons, specially for those who want to just put their feet up n do nothing all day.

Here’s a short video of the Ullal Workation…

South India’s City of Palaces – Mysore !

Who hasn’t heard of the Mysore Palace or the Mysore Zoo or the Mysore Dusserah? For most South Indians, if not all, these are places/events of interest that they would’ve grown up hearing about and/or experiencing it. For a lot of Bangaloreans, Mysore was like a summer holiday destination almost every school holiday season. The last time I visited Mysore for travel purposes was nearly three decades ago. Those were the days when school trips meant a day trip to the Mysore Zoo and Mysore Palace. Never did I imagine I’d be in love with the city as much as I was when I spent 5 days here earlier this month.

Yes it’s called the city of palaces for a reason that Mysore has seven of them. These might not date back to thousands of years back but still makes for some amazing ancient structures. The most prominent of the lot being the Amba Vilas Palace, also known as the world famous Mysore Palace. The grandeur of this palace particularly on the inside is just amazing. The exterior is quite exquisite too but it’s the interiors that make you go wow. The other notable palaces being the Lalitha Mahal Palace, which is now used as a hotel and the Jaganmohan Palace, which is now an art gallery. In my opinion however, ever other building in the city, from the government college to the commissioner’s office, from the Radisson Blu Hotel to that Temple next to the art gallery, each one looks like a palace on its own.

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Mysore is filled with an abundant number of attractions and activities for all age groups. I made most of the Kukkarahalli Lake for my morning runs and it was pleasing to see a good number of people who were there early morning for their everyday walks/runs. The lake is also a bird sanctuary of sorts with a lot of migratory birds like Herons, Cranes, Pelicans etc nested within the lake. I also managed to visit the not so famous museums like the Sand Art Museum and the Melody Wax Museum. While the former has about 150 giant pieces of Sand Art, the latter was more of museum with the largest collection of musical instruments in the country, with over 1300 instruments from across the globe. At a cheap-as-chips price of 60Rs entry, both these museums were totally worth a visit.

Apart from the museums and palaces, there’s also the famous Mysore Zoo, a new underwater world aquarium, numerous parks in the city and plenty of eateries to try out. One of the mornings, I ended up at the very popular Mylari Dosa Corner, and I must say the Dosa was incredibly delicious. Very similar to Davangere Benne Dose but slightly different. So yum that I devoured two of them back to back.

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On a different note, the city for sure is a car owner’s dream. There’s literally zero traffic, atleast when compared to Bangalore and driving around feels like a breeze. Imagine Bangalore on weekend with curfew on. That’s exactly how I felt driving around in Mysore, even during the most rush hour. For the first few hours I actually thought Covid restrictions were in place, it was that quiet. But nope, it’s the normal Mysore traffic with hardly any vehicles on the roads. Except for the town square / market area which can get a li’l busy, driving around the rest of the city is as smooth as spreading butter on toast.

And if driving within Mysore is not your cup of tea, there are a ton of places within 30 mins drive from the city centre. From the famous Chamundi Hills to the beautiful Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, from the beautiful Somanathpur Temple to the pretty Balmuri Falls, from Tippu Sultan’s Summer Palace to the KRS Backwaters, Mysore is central to all of these and more. A city with never ending list of things to see and do, a city that didn’t have to put any effort in making me like it more, a city that makes you feel how a city should be – Mysore you beauty, am sure to head back soon to live the relaxed ‘city’ life for a while.

Bijapur – The City of Victory !!

Now when you hear someone’s travelling in India, you don’t think they’d be heading to Bijapur (now known as Vijayapura) as a tourist destination, do you? Yes the city has numerous monuments & works of art from over 500years ago and yes the city has the world famous Gol Gumbaz, a monument that was built nearly 500years ago, as a tomb for Mohammed Adil Shah but given the publicity it has, not even a lot of locals within the state or the country know about the place or its history as much as it deserves. It’s honestly such a shame that Tourism India doesn’t promote places like these in the overseas exhibitions & campaigns. Even the Incredible India promotions do not show places like these anywhere within or outside India.

Gol Gumbaz is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah, the 7th ruler of Adil Shahi Dynasty who ruled that geography for 30yrs. The simple yet charming design of Gol Gumbaz is an example of architectural excellence of Bijapur. The monument is so amazing that I had to write a separate blogpost just for that. Click HERE to read about my Gol Gumbaz experience.

Bijapur is not only home to the amazing Gol Gumbaz but there are other incredible ancient structures of the Indo-Islamic architecture that is sure to wow anyone. In particular I was totally in awe with the Bara-Kaman, an incomplete monument that was supposed to be bigger than the Gol Gumbaz, if completed. Watching this place in sunrise took me to that destroyed church in Antigua Guatemala as the arches reminded me of that place. It was disappointing that I wasn’t allowed to experience Bara Kaman from its inside, but was still super happy with what I got to see. I reached the place before sunrise and boy did it make for some amazing early morning pictures here.

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Just around the corner from Gol Gumbaz is a prominent spot where there’s a canon that’s gigantic in size. During its time it was supposed to the be the world’s largest, and I believe it still is the largest in India. Called Malik-e-Maidan this canon is made of bell metal, measuring 4.2 metres (14 ft) in length, 1.5 metres (~5 ft) in diameter, and weighing in about 55 tons. Not sure how much historic prominence it has but considering there was not a soul in sight at the location when I went there; it felt like not many know about it at all. Fun fact is that  it was apparently attempted to be shifted to Great Britain by East India Company as a war trophy, but due to its huge size and un-conditioned transport infrastructure they (EIC) gave up.

Malik-e-maidan

There are a numerous monuments in the area, from that era and each one has its own prominence & beauty to it. But the one monument that I found more beautiful than the Gol Gumbaz was Ibrahim Roza. Ibrahim Roza is the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II with his two sons and his mother on the left and on the right side with a mosque set in a walled garden facing over an attractive pond. Honestly this structure was more amazing than any of my pics can portray. The architecture, the ambience, the details etc everything made for yet another photographer’s delight. I had no clue about the place until I arrived in Bijapur and am glad I got to see & experience it !!

Here are some pics from Ibrahim Roza.

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Shivagiri – This is something more recently constructed in Bijapur. Recently as in in the 2000s, unlike all the other historic monuments from centuries ago. Shivagiri is a place that houses the 4th largest Shiva statue in the world and 3rd tallest in India. (Click HERE for the list of tallest Hindu statues in the world) The statue is 85 ft tall, 105ft wide and weighs about 1500tonnes !! The beautiful beige unicolor of the body along with a nofilter evening/night sky for background made this place tantalisingly mesmerising. Totally loved the aura of the place and only wished that the nightfall had not been that quick. Nevertheless the whole park, the setup, the cute Nandi statue all made it for a beautiful experience at the site. I’d love to go back to experience it all over again.

On the whole Bijapur provided a fantastic experience and also made us feel like part of the history. The city definitely is very hustling and bustling but nothing when compared to Bangalore. I loved the roadside Vada Pavs which were super cheap but super-duper yummy. Would I go back if I had a chance? Yes I sure would. Would I recommend it as a tourism destination? 100% Every Indian if possible has to expreince the magic of Gol Gumbaz, admire the beauty of Ibrahim Roza & Bara Kaman and definitely soak in the magic at Shivagiri. These are something that you get to know and feel it only when you are there in person. My words and pictures can only do so much but if you don’t take yourself there, you are absolutely missing out on something awesome !!

Some useful and informative links:

Bijapur – https://www.india.com/travel/bijapur/

Gol Gumbaz – https://www.yatra.com/indian-monuments/bijapur/gol-gumbaz

Ibrahim Roza – https://www.dsource.in/resource/monuments-bijapur/ibrahim-roza

Shivagiri – https://vijayapura.nic.in/en/tourist-place/shivagiri/

Gol Gumbaz – Karnataka’s Monument Magnifique !!!

Now I’d only ever heard of Gol Gumbaz in my history books during my primary school days. Yes it was a famous monument, yes it was huge in size, yes it was somewhere in North Karnataka. But it was not until I entered the monument premises, that I felt whatever I read about and knew about it in school was nothing compared to what it is in reality. A monument of this stature definitely deserves a lot more attention and publicity than it currently gets. I’ve seen the “Incredible India” (by Indian Ministry of Tourism) campaigns in different parts of the world and nowhere have I seen them feature Gol Gumbaz. It’s such a shame that only a handful of places in India gets all the exposure while places/monuments like these just lose out.

Anyway coming to Gol Gumbaz ! Oh my lord, what an incredible feat of ancient engineering this monument is. It’s unbelievable to visualise and fathom the amount of manpower, logistics and planning required to build something of this grandeur.

At the time of its completion the dome of Gol Gumbaz was the largest in Asia and second largest in the world, at a diameter of nearly 45 meters. This Asian record was held for nearly 350yrs until a monument in Russia took over in the late 1960s. Click HERE for the list of world’s largest domes.

Gol Gumbaz is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah, the 7th ruler of Adil Shahi Dynasty who ruled that geography for 30yrs. The simple yet charming design of Gol Gumbaz is an example of architectural excellence of Bijapur. Apparently, Shah ordered to build this tomb before his death. To think of having a monument like this dedicated to one person, with such engineering is just mindblowing. Wonder how one can envisage what sort of ‘tomb’ they want after their death eh !

Firstly as you walk inside the monument complex premises you are greeted by the very beautiful, Naqqar Khana, a grand looking structure in itself. According to historians, this building was constructed to offer a grand royal reception to the king’s visitors by beating drums, which was part of custom for receiving royal guests. This structure is now used as a museum, after the British converted it into one, in order house all the rare objects they found during shifting their headquarters to Bijapur.

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I didn’t go inside this building, as I’m not much of a museum person but those who did go mentioned that there were rare objects that included stone inscriptions of Arabic, Persian, Kannada and Sanskrit languages in different scripts written in beautiful calligraphy. It also houses Brahmanical and Jain sculptures, hero stones, numerous manuscripts, coins, carpets, maps, miniature paintings, Bidiri ware and other house hold articles, datable from the 6th to the 18th century.

After you go past the Naqqar Khana, you reach the entrance of Gol Gumbaz via the arched pathway and straight away it makes your jaws drop. I arrived at this place just around sunrise, and there were probably only 4 other people at the time. The morning sun on the monument, the empty premises, the green lawn around it and the yellowish orange façade with the blue sky for background, makes it a photographer’s delight.

As soon as you enter the Gol Gumbaz, you see a polygonal podium connected with steps on both sides. In the heart of this podium is the cenotaph of Mohammed Adil Shah. When you walk into the door of the monument, honestly it just feels like a big empty hall but it’s not until you tilt your head 90 degrees upwards and look at the structure above you, that makes you go wow ! A huge 45 meter semi-circular stone structure that has no pillars and no support. You just start to wonder how it’s built. It’s hard to even think of constructing something like this in the present age, without the use of any heavy machinery, advanced engineering technology or computerised calculations.

And then before you can get mesmerised, you find a stair case that takes you 6 storeys to the top. A good 5-10 min climb within the narrow staircase with steep steps takes you to the roof of the monument and you get to view the dome’s architectural brilliance from the outside. Initially at the end of the staircase it feels like an open terrace but then you find a narrow pathway to enter the ‘dome’ and that’s when words like magnificent, breathtaking, phenomenal, prodigious etc takes over your mind. As you step in, you feel like a tiny being in comparison to that dome. Almost like how you’d feel if you cover an ant with a small soup bowl from the top.

Within the dome is a good walking area almost 25-30ft in width that goes across the circumference of the dome. And from the top the view of the center of the dome is even more amazing. By the way, if you think all this makes you go awe in disbelief you’ve got to wait to hear the echoes !! Any word uttered or any sound made echos 7 times and with amazing clarity. The echoes are so clear that you can actually count the number of times it repeats what you say.

The acoustical technology and the mathematical calculations, whatever was used in the construction is just amazing to say the least. I was walking inside the dome with my nephews and we could hear people outside the dome talking and saying words with such precision, that it felt like they were right next to us. Something what you’d hear in in a Dolby stereo theatre when watching a thriller or a horror movie. A clap somewhere outside feels like a slap on your ear. I can go on & on writing about this experience. But no amount of words can give you the feel of what you experience in person.  Eventually after spending a good amount of time checking out almost every nook and cranny of the monument, it was time to head back.

I had left Milo in the car for nearly 2 hrs while I went away to check out the monument. So had to kind of rush back to check on him and make sure he was ok. It was the first time he was left alone in a car and boy ! he managed quite well. The windows and the sunroof were left open so he doesn’t suffocate. But as soon as I made it back to the car, the amount of complaining he did was very so understandable. Took him out for almost an hour long stroll waiting for my brother & family to come back from Gol Gumbaz, so he could feel all the love again. We also bumped into another traveller with his pet Beagle with whom Milo ended up having a good time together. And with the beauty of Gol Gumbaz still sinking in, so did I.

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The Mesmerizing Cave Temples of Badami

Wow ! Wow ! Wow ! The Cave Temples of Badami deserve more praise and admiration than any words can describe. From the moment you start climbing those first flight of stairs, everything is surely going to wow you like nothing before. The red sand stone in which the caves are carved, almost takes you to Petra Jordan at first glimpse !!

For those who haven’t heard of or don’t know about Badami, it’s a series of ‘cave temples’ carved within giant monolithic stones back in the 6th century AD by the Chalukyan rulers. That’s almost 1600years ago, carved to precision !! I know there are the Ajantha, Ellora and the Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra which are possibly much larger in size but within Karnataka, these Badami Caves almost match those standards and expectations. This is one such ancient ‘temple/monument’ in Karnataka that I urge anyone and everyone to see. It’s ok to miss out all the other prominent ones like Hampi, Belur-Halebeedu, Melukote etc etc cuz the Badami Cave Temples are just a different league altogether.

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Badami has a total of 6 caves of which 4 are accessible to the public. There’s only one way in and one way out and you have to pass these cave temples in the a sequence starting from the first cave. I was lucky enough that my timings to visit this place happened to be in the late afternoon. It took a good couple of hours to check the place out, enjoy the views from the top and also experience a gorgeous sunset.

The architecture inside the caves may not match other amazing temple monuments within the state but definitely makes you wonder how could anyone carve all of those in one stone and that too, carve from the outside making their way in. For the context the biggest cave is nearly 300sqm in area with pillars, sculptures, idols etc all carved within one giant stone. Phew !! Mindblowing !!

Walking further up towards Caves 2 and 3, you can witness the large water reservoir, known as ‘Agasthya Lake’ or ‘Agasthya Tirtha’. The lake is quite large and is ounded by the Badami Cave Temples to the South and the Badami Fort to the North. The beautiful Bhootnath Temple Complex is on the Eastern side, while the Western side is dominated by a human settlement. From the top of the Badami Fort and Badami Cave Temples, the lake looks very picturesque. Makes for a great spot for sunrise and sunset pictures and if the water’s calm, it creates a beautiful mirror image of the surrounding hills.

Mirror Image of Badami Caves in the Agasthya Lake

The interesting part of the location is that the cave temples have some amazingly mischievous elements living there consistently in the shelter of the sacred Gods and Goddesses. There are literally hundreds of monkeys on the stone steps leading to the top. If you aren’t careful enough they can appear from nowhere and grab the bags/food/bottles etc and give anyone a good scare.

Across the caves are the temples of lord Shiva, built on top of the hill and makes for a perfect sunset point. It’s a good 15min walk from the caves to the other side and you get to walk through the local neighbourhood. Walking up and down the Shiva temples could easily add another 35-60mins (based on your fitness levels) and unless if you are a history and/or architecture geek, it’s only great for the sunset views. While it may sound not so interesting, it’s still worth heading up as it gives a panoramic view of the Badami Caves from up top.

Like most people we all tend to go out n explore the world but at times miss out finding out what’s in our own backyard. Me being stuck in India during the global travel spree, has come as a blessing in disguise. From Yana & Belum Caves to Gandikota Canyon, from the Dudhsagar Falls to Sunrises in Pondicherry, I’ve been lucky enough to able to check out so many places already. And India has a ton of places that I still need to cover. All of these I’m doing it now after travelling to 60 countries ! India continues to mesmerise me. Better late than never as they say, and while I can I’m making the best of my time here. So anyway long story short, if you are in Bangalore, the Badami Cave Temples, Caves of Yana, Sathodi Falls and Gol Gumbaz (Bijapur) are some places you should not miss out experiencing and should definitely be on your list.

Here are some pics:

HAMPI- South India’s Most Popular UNESCO World Heritage Site

After having travelled to various UNESCO world heritage sites around the world including Iguazu Falls in Argentina, Machu Pichu in Peru, Tikal National Park in Guatemala, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Bryce Canyons in USA, Fiordland National Park in New Zealand, Botanic Gardens in Singapore and many many more, little did I know that I was only a few hours of drive away from one of India’s most popular & prominent UNESCO heritage site of Hampi & its historical ruins. The ruins that dated back to 14th century, almost 700-800 years old & even older than the ruins at Machu Pichu, was right in my own backyard. The last time I remember visiting Hampi was when I was around 8 or 10yrs old and I had no idea of what it was like back then. So when I looked up for Hampi I just coaxed my brother to go on a road trip from Bangalore to this historical town and he readily agreed.

Tungabhadra Dam Reservoir

Hampi is about 370kms from my home in Bangalore and it was going to be a long day on the road with all the pitstops along the way. It ended up being a bit of a family trip with all of my brother’s clan going together and it surely was fun to say the least. The day we started driving, began very early in the morning and the weather was totally on our side. With the express ways in Karnataka being very impressive, the drive couldn’t be any more smoother than it was. Enroute to Hampi we stopped at the gardens by the Tungabhadra Dam, which is Karnataka’s largest dam in terms of storage capacity @ approx 130tmcft. It was a super fun afternoon playing a few games in the park while also taking a break from the day’s long drive.

Later that evening we arrived into the town of Hampi, once the capital of the famed Vijayanagara Empire in India. As the dusk was setting in that day, we were exploring the temple ruins at Hemakuta Hill. We were also fortunate enough to get a view of the gorgeous sunset from the sunset point within the ruins. There was so much art & history in just that one spot that it was actually getting very exciting to see what lied ahead over the next couple of days, for us to explore & soak in. As it got darker, we had to head to our homestay in the village nearby, which was amazing in its own way. On a different note though, on that very evening I had a brief incident at the Hemakuta Hill where I lost my wallet, which had accidentally dropped off from my pocket, following which I had to block my credit cards, get them replaced & sent all the way from New Zealand. Wasn’t a big deal but the inconvenience was a bit of a hindrance.

Now a lot of us know why Hampi is so popular and famous right? To those of you who don’t know, here’s why:

This quaint place, lying amidst striking ruins of the past, has been receiving tourists from far off for ages. The magnificence of the ruins of temples and other structures of Vijayanagar, dating back to 1500 AD, is the main attraction of this place. According to some accounts, Hampi used to be the second largest city of the world during its times. There are innumerable boulders around Hampi that are easy to climb. One can get a stunning view of the ruins spread around Hampi by mounting one of the boulders. Located on the bank of the Tungabhadra River, Hampi has quite a number of tourist attractions like Virupaksha Temple, Vithala Temple, Lotus Mahal, Queen’s Bath, Elephant Stables, Nandi Statue & many many more.

What was once the largest city in the country has now become ruins primarily because of the fall of the Vijayanagara dynasty, which was taken down by a coalition of Muslim rulers in the 16th century. In 1565, at the Battle of Talikota, a coalition of Muslim sultanates entered into a war with the Vijayanagara Empire. They captured and beheaded the last king of this empire Aliya Rama Raya and then followed it with a massive destruction of the infrastructure fabric of Hampi and the metropolitan Vijayanagara. The city was pillaged, looted and burnt for six months after the war, then abandoned as ruins, which are now called the Group of Monuments at Hampi. [source: www.karnataka.com]

We managed to explore as many ruin sites as possible but given the heat during the day, it was quite exhausting to be at some places when the sun was in its full glory. While some of them were within walking distance of each other, the others had to be driven to. Despite that we did tick off as many as 2 dozen sites within the region. It does take a lot of walking around to admire the ancient Hoysala architecture. If history, arts & ‘ruins’ isn’t your thing then a couple of days is more than enough to check out the prominent sites; but if you are a buff then you can spend weeks here for sure. While we saw plenty of ‘tourist attractions’ that Hampi is famous for now, the icing on the cake was the golden hour we spent at the Vijaya Vitthala Temple, which is incredibly famous for the Stone Chariot. The stone carvings at this temple as well as the chariot are just mindboggling & definitely worth a visit.

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Back at the Kadirampura village where our home stay was, were plenty of tiny stores & eateries. We tried quite a few dishes the village had to offer but it wasn’t anything different than what you’d find in Bangalore and the likes. The homestay itself was a nice little pad on the second floor and its own terrace. Every morning we woke up to the birds chirping, the cool breeze and a beautiful sunrise. The freshness of the nature and the silence in the air was such a bliss to wake up to. It was so quiet and serene that we could hear the morning prayers from the temple that was almost a kilometer away.

Eventually after we had enough of Hampi, we had to head back towards Bangalore. Now on our return drive, we passed by another historic & equally prominent city of Chitradurga. The city famous for its lady braveheart Onake Obavva, who single handedly killed a number of enemy soldiers trying to enter the fort, using nothing but a big pestle. The story of Obavva & the gorgeous Chitradurga Fort needs a post of its own but CLICK HERE to see a short video of the fort & its surroundings. We spent an entire day walking through the fort, learning a little bit of history, checking out the famous Obavvana Kindi and then I made it to the top of the fort’s highest point on a watch tower, which was a different kind of challenge by itself but totally worth it.

Thus after a few days of soaking in the history, art & heritage of both Hampi & Chitradurga, we headed back towards Bangalore feeling enriched with all the learnings & knowledge gained about two of Karnataka’s top tourism assets. Additionally feeling satisfied of ticking of a world heritage site that was right around us and also feeling excited about exploring other heritage sites within the state and the country.

Goes on to show that sometimes there are some amazing places round the corner, which we just have to look up for and then go enjoy them. We normally leave those sites, that are closer to home, to the very last taking them for granted that we’ll check it out someday as it’s just right there. And then we end up going all around the world visiting everything else whilst forgetting our local piece of history. But thanks to the Corona Virus, a lot of people around the world are now getting to explore their own backyards more than they wished for, but I guess no one has any regrets of doing so. If it wasn’t for Covid-19 all this probably might not have happened at all. So instead of just whining & moaning about the virus, let us all say a Thank You to it as it has provided an opportunity to all of mankind, like never before and in more ways than one.

Click HERE to see a short video of our Hampi getaway

Some pictures from Hampi here: